System and method for providing income payments to an investor

ABSTRACT

In at least one embodiment computerized methods and corresponding systems for providing guaranteed income payments to an investor are provided that include the step or steps of: receiving information from the investor representing at least a current age of the investor, a desired income start date, a desired income payment amount, and a premium payment amount; receiving a premium payment from the investor and placing the premium payment into a first investment sleeve; and automatically transferring using at least one computing device, during a waiting period and according to a predefined event, a portion of the premium payment from the first investment sleeve to a second investment sleeve, wherein the portion of the premium payment transferred calculated by the at least one computing device as a function of a time remaining in the waiting period and the desired income amount.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/045,305, filed Mar. 10, 2011, which is incorporated hereinby reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to the field of computerized methods andsystems for financial planning More specifically, the presentapplication is directed toward computerized methods and systems forinvesting premium payments received from an investor and providingincome payments to the investor beginning at a predefined time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Individual savings, including retirement savings, has been greatlyimpacted by the growth of the stock market and retirement plans thatoffer individual unmanaged accounts. Both of these recent phenomenagenerally require the investor to determine how much to save and how toinvest those savings, including allocating the savings in the investor'sindividual savings or similar account between various types of assetclasses. Investors, including retirees, have many software optionsavailable to assist them with investment planning For example, somesoftware used in retirement planning allows the user to enter theappropriate information (e.g., a user's age, current income, assets,retirement goal, etc.) and the program may output a general list ofthings the user can do to reach the desired goal, e.g., save more now,change investments, retire later, work part-time, etc. Some softwareprograms also recommend allocations of savings between variousinvestment products based on the investor's individual goals.

An investor can select many different investment products for aretirement portfolio. One investment vehicle is common stock, which hasthe potential to produce high returns. Unfortunately, the value of stockand equities in general can be volatile, and losses due to thisvolatility may severely impact retirement savings. Investments in cashequivalents, such as in money market accounts or certificates ofdeposit, are far less volatile, but yields may be unacceptably low. Anasset allocation made up of stocks, bonds, real estate, cash equivalentsand other asset classes may therefore be desirable for some investors tominimize volatility while maintaining acceptable returns.

Another type of asset that can be purchased for retirement is anannuity. Annuities are available in many forms, e.g., deferred variableannuities, fixed deferred annuities, deferred income annuities, variableimmediate annuities and fixed immediate annuities. A fixed immediateannuity is a well-known financial vehicle offered by insurance companiesthat is used to pay a person a certain sum of money in a series ofdistributions or income payments made at regular intervals, typicallymonthly, quarterly, or annually, starting at a given date, based on agiven amount of principal from an initial contribution of assets,commonly known as premium. Income annuities are available in many formsas noted above. The distributions may be made, for example, for apredetermined definite period, as in an annuity certain, or for as longas the person lives, as in a life annuity.

Unfortunately, using financial planning software to select allocationsof stocks, bonds, or other investment products has its shortcomings. Forexample, the investor who utilizes this type of financial planningsoftware is forced to play a guessing game, that is, the investor mustselect an investment option that the investor hopes will provide adesired return. Should the investor choose incorrectly, then theinvestment might not provide the desired amount of return for theinvestor. Additionally, the investor is at risk from the vagaries of themarket, such as a market correction that has the potential of erasing asignificant portion of the investment assets. Certain types of annuitiesmay provide more certainty than securities, but often the reasonablereturn that annuities provide is exchanged for the potential for highreturns associated with securities.

Therefore, there exists a need for an investment system andcorresponding methods performed by the system that are not so limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In at least one embodiment computerized methods and correspondingsystems for providing guaranteed income payments to an investor areprovided that include the step or steps of: receiving information fromthe investor representing at least a current age of the investor, adesired income start date, a desired income payment amount, and apremium payment amount; receiving a premium payment from the investorand placing at least a portion of the premium payment into a firstinvestment sleeve; calculating a waiting period representing thedifference between the investor's current age and the desired incomestart date; automatically transferring using at least one computingdevice, during the waiting period and according to a predefined event, aportion of the premium payment from the first investment sleeve to asecond investment sleeve, wherein the portion of the premium paymenttransferred between the first and the second sleeves is calculated bythe at least one computing device as a function of a time remaining inthe waiting period and the desired income amount; and presenting, to theinvestor, one or more income payments from assets in the second sleeve.

In one embodiment, the first investment sleeve comprises security typeassets selected from a set of assets consisting of stocks, bonds, and/orinvestment funds, and wherein the second investment sleeve comprisesnon-security type assets selected from a set of assets consisting of anannuity and/or a guaranteed income investment product.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: receiving a secondpremium payment from the investor, with at least a portion of the secondpremium payment being placed into the first investment sleeve; andsubsequent adjustment of the one or more income payments forpresentation to the investor, the one or more income payments areadjusted taking into account the amount of the second premium paymentand the time period between the time at which the premium payment wasreceived from the investor and the start date of the one or more incomepayments. A second and any subsequent premium payment from the investormay also be placed in the second or other investment sleeves whenreceived; and any subsequent adjustment of the one or more incomepayments may be handled in the same manner previously noted in thisparagraph.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: receiving, during thewaiting period, a request to withdraw a withdrawal amount from theinvestor; and adjusting the one or more income payments for presentationto the investor, the one or more income payments adjusted according tothe withdrawn amount.

In one embodiment, transferring a portion of the premium payment fromthe first investment sleeve comprises calculating a transfer amount at atransfer time, the transfer amount calculated as a function of amultiplier and a present value of unfunded income at the transfer time,wherein the multiplier is determined based on an account value of thefirst sleeve at the transfer time and an account value of the firstsleeve at a previous transfer time. In addition to the account value ofthe first investment sleeve being used to determine the multiplier, theaccount value of the second investment sleeve, or both the first andsecond investment sleeves may similarly be used to determine the valueof the multiplier.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: transferring, during thewaiting period, a portion of the premium payment from the firstinvestment sleeve to a second investment sleeve based on marketperformance and/or prevailing interest rates, among other things.

In one embodiment, transferring a portion of the premium payment fromthe first investment sleeve comprises calculating a transfer amount at aquarterly transfer time, where the transfer amount is a minimum of: amaximum percentage of a policy's accumulation value at a previousquarter and a percentage of an accumulation value at the quarterlytransfer time.

In one embodiment, the percentage of the accumulation value at thequarterly transfer time is computed at least based on:(1−maximum(minimum [1,m×(1−TRt)],0)}, where m is a target threshold, andTRt is a target ratio of variable accumulation value required topurchase unfunded income benefit relative to the accumulation value atthe quarterly transfer time.

In one embodiment, transferring a portion of the premium payment fromthe first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve comprisescalculating a change in the account value of the first investment sleeveduring the waiting period; and transferring an amount proportionate tothe change in the account value during the waiting period from the firstinvestment sleeve to the second investment sleeve.

In one embodiment, transferring a portion of the premium payment fromthe first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve comprisescalculating a cumulative account value growth over the premium paymentamount; and transferring an amount proportionate to the change in thecumulative account value growth over the premium payment amount from thefirst investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve.

In one embodiment, transferring a portion of the premium payment fromthe first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve is madeaccording to a constant proportion portfolio insurance (“CPPI”) model, amodified CPPI model, or a variation thereof.

In one embodiment, a computerized method for providing guaranteed incomepayments to an investor is provided, the computerized method includesthe step or steps of: receiving information from the investorrepresenting at least a current age of the investor, a desired incomestart date, a desired income payment amount, and a premium paymentamount; receiving a premium payment from the investor and placing thepremium payment into a first investment sleeve, the premium in the firstsleeve capable of being invested in security type assets; calculating awaiting period representing the difference between the investor'scurrent age and the desired income start date; automaticallytransferring using at least one computing device, during the waitingperiod and periodically at predefined periods of time, a portion of thepremium payment from the first investment sleeve to a second investmentsleeve, wherein any amounts transferred into the second sleeve arecapable of being invested in only non-security type assets, the portionof the premium payment transferred between the first and the secondsleeves is calculated by the at least one computing device based on anaccount value of the first sleeve at a transfer time and an accountvalue of the first sleeve at a previous transfer time; and presenting,to the investor, one or more income payments from assets in the secondsleeve.

In one embodiment, the non-security type assets comprise fixed deferredannuities, and wherein the method further comprises purchasing, usingthe amount transferred to the second sleeve at each predefined period oftime, a fixed deferred annuity having a waiting period of a timeremaining to the income start date and a desired income payment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of the steps of one embodiment of amethod for providing income payments to an investor;

FIGS. 2 and 3 provide details for some embodiments of a method forproviding income payments to an investor;

FIG. 4 presents a diagram of a system for providing income payments toan investor according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 5 through 7 present flow charts for embodiments of a method forproviding income payments to an investor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way ofillustration of specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilizedand structural changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing income paymentsto an investor according to at least one embodiment of the methodsdisclosed herein. In step 101, information for providing amultiple-sleeve investment policy/contract is received from theinvestor, such as information representing at least a current age of theinvestor, a desired income start date, a desired income payment amount,a premium payment amount, etc., as well as an allocation of the premiumpayment between investment sleeves and/or investment options therein,etc. In this embodiment a desired income start date is any age that theinvestor wishes to begin receiving income payments, but not necessarilylimited to the age in which the investor actually retires. Paymentsthemselves may be guaranteed and/or for the life of the insured.Regarding the allocation of the initial and any subsequent premiumpayment, this information may be specified initially and thereafter beapplied automatically to the first and any subsequent premium payments,and/or specified or adjusted at a later time and applied automaticallyto any subsequent premium payments. The information received from theinvestor regarding the investment product may be input by the investoror an agent into an interface screen, provided by the computer system,with form elements therein for the investor or agent to input therelevant information.

The desired income payment amount may be selected by the investor basedon how much money the investor wishes to receive from the premiumpayment when he or she achieves the income start date. FIG. 2 presentsexamples of a desired income payment amount as a percentage of thepremium payment that the investor may select based on the age when theincome payments begins 201 and a waiting period 202. For example, if theinvestor desires an income start date when the investor is between 61and 65 years of age, and is willing to wait 5 years before receivingpayment, then the investor can select a desired income amount between 5%and 9% of the premium payment. The chart shown in FIG. 2 may bedisplayed in an interface screen by the system along with theinformation input interface screen as a guide for the user specifyingthe terms of the multiple-sleeve investment product.

Returning back to the embodiment of FIG. 1, in step 102 a premiumpayment from the investor is received, and all or at least a portion ofthe premium payment is placed into a first investment sleeve, a secondinvestment sleeve, or both. An investment sleeve is an account managedby one or more money managers, or, in the alternative, the account ismanaged by the investor. The first investment sleeve can include avariety of assets that are purchased with the premium payment receivedfrom the investor. Types of assets that can be purchased in the firstinvestment sleeve include cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurancededicated funds, exchange traded funds, exchange traded notes,Treasuries, foreign currency, options, futures, commodities contracts,or generally any type of security. It will be appreciated that otherassets, including debt instruments, may be purchased with the premiumpayment and held in or otherwise associated with the first investmentsleeve.

In step 103, a waiting period representing the difference between theinvestor's current age and the desired income start date is calculated.In one example the waiting period is determined by subtracting theinvestor's age from the investor's desired income start date. In anotherexample a waiting period is a flat waiting period, such as 20 years,that does not rely on the investor's age. In yet another example, awaiting period is a function of the premium payment and the incomeamount desired by the investor for future payments. The waiting periodwill be an amount of time sufficient for the premium payment to yieldsufficient funds for the income payment, which may vary based on thereturn achieved with investments in the first sleeve.

In step 104 during the waiting period and according to a predefinedevent, a portion of the premium payment from the first investment sleeveto a second investment sleeve is automatically transferred by thecomputer system, the portion of the premium payment calculated accordingto or as a function of a time remaining in the waiting period and thedesired income amount. In some embodiments an inquiry is first sent tothe investor to obtain permission, or to merely provide notice to theinvestor, prior to or after the transfer of the portion of the premiumpayment from the first investment sleeve to the second investmentsleeve. In one embodiment the predefined event includes transfer of theportion of the premium payment from the first investment sleeve to thesecond investment sleeve on an annual basis. In another embodiment thepredefined event includes transfer between the sleeves on a quarterly,or monthly basis or periodically on some other predetermined period oftime.

In some embodiments the second investment sleeve includes the purchaseof non-securities type investment products, such as a deferred incomeannuity, a fixed deferred income annuity, or any other type of annuity.Also in this embodiment, the deferred income annuity includes ridersthat defer income payments over a certain period of time, such as theamount of time remaining in the waiting period until the income startdate. As a result, at the income start date and at the end of thecalculated waiting period, the deferred income annuities, fixed deferredincome annuities or other types, purchased periodically during thewaiting period will begin to provide income payments to the investor.The income payments made to the investor after the income start date areprovided from the sleeve containing the deferred annuity or otherassets. In some embodiments payments from the deferred income annuitiesare provided during and/or for the lifetime of the investor. In otherembodiments the payments last for a certain number of years, where thenumber of years is selected by the investor. One skilled in the art willappreciate that transferring assets between investment sleeves thatinvest in securities to one that invests in non-security type assetsperiodically within the waiting period reduces the investor's riskwithout requiring the investor to reallocate investments between assetclasses as the investor gets closer to retirement.

The amount of the premium payment that is transferred by the system fromthe first sleeve to the second sleeve can vary. For example, the amounttransferred between sleeves may be a fixed percentage every period untilsome or all of the premium and any return thereon is transferred to thesecond sleeve. The amount transferred, however, preferably varies, forexample, to account for economic factors, such as market fluctuationand/or interest rate changes. In one embodiment the transfer amount,made each quarter, transfers more of the initial and any subsequentpremium payments from the first investment sleeve to the secondinvestment sleeve as a function of the balance and/or return in thefirst sleeve. The amount transferred may therefore increase or decreaserelative to the amount transferred in previous quarters depending onwhether the value of the first sleeve decreases or increases,respectively or in the reverse, during the previous quarter. An increasein the amount transferred may also occur if the value of the firstsleeve increases, but the relevant interest rate decrease, and/or adecrease in the amount transferred may also occur if the value of thefirst sleeve decreases, but the relevant interest rate increase. Inaddition to transfers from the first sleeve to second sleeve, transfersfrom the second sleeve to the first sleeve may similarly also bepossible. The number of times that transfer from the second to the firstsleeves may be unlimited or limited to a fixed number of times, e.g.,only once or twice.

In a more specific embodiment, the transfer between first and secondinvestment sleeves is performed according to a calculated multiplier(“m”) and a present value of the unfunded income (“PV of UI”). Forexample, the following formulas reflect the above-discussed embodimentsby calculating the transfer amount (“TA”) to be made from the firstsleeve to the second sleeve at the end of each quarter:TA=[m×(PV of UI)]/[n−t+1]

-   -   where m=1 if g_(t)≧1; and m=1/g_(t) ² if g_(t)<1        g _(t)AV_(t)/AV_(t-1)PV of UI=[Guaranteed income amount−Funded        income amount]/DIA rate

In the above set of formulas, the multiplier “m” serves to transfer moreof the premium payment to the second investment sleeve when the accountvalue (“AV”) of the first, second, or both investment sleeves decreasesbetween quarters or any other interval. The AV may decrease because of amarket correction or if the investor elects to transfer money out of thefirst investment sleeve. The present value of the unfunded income (“PVof UI”) is calculated by subtracting the funded income amount from theguaranteed income amount and then dividing by the deferred incomeannuity (“DIA”) rate. The variable “n” represents the waiting period,and variable “t” is defined in terms of the transfer frequency. Theembodiment reflected by the above equations considers changes in AV overthe chosen time interval, such as a quarterly time interval, instead ofa cumulative growth.

Another embodiment that considers cumulative AV growth over the premiumpaid, while still transferring more money to the second investmentsleeve when AV decreases, is achieved by substituting the above equationfor g_(t) ² with:g _(t) ²=AV_(t)/(Premium amount−Transfers)In this embodiment more money is transferred from the first investmentsleeve to the second investment sleeve when AV decreases, however,because the function depends on the premium amount less transfers, thefunction accounts for cumulative AV growth over the premium paid by theinvestor.

Yet another embodiment for transferring money from a first investmentsleeve to a second investment sleeve during a waiting period follows aconstant proportion portfolio insurance (“CPPI”) model, a modified CPPImodel, or a variation thereof. The amount of money placed into the firstinvestment sleeve at the beginning is calculated based on a multiplier(“m”) times the quantity of “assets” minus a “floor”. The multiplier inthis embodiment is a constant of either 3, 4, or 5, depending on thecorrection size that is being insured against. For example, a chosenmultiplier of 5 represents insuring against a correction of 20% beforethe account is rebalanced. Accordingly, a multiplier of 3 representsinsuring against a correction of 33% and a multiplier of 4 representsinsuring against a correction of 25%. One of skill in the art willappreciate that other constants or variable may be utilized dependingupon the correction size that is being insured against. The “assets” arethe account value in the first investment sleeve plus the present valueof the funded income in the second investment sleeve. The present valueof the funded income in the second investment sleeve is calculated bydividing the funded income by, for example the DIA rate or theapplicable interest rate, such as the fixed deferred annuity rate or anyrate applied to the assets of the second sleeve. The “floor” iscalculated as a present value of the guaranteed income, where thepresent value of the guaranteed income is calculated by the guaranteedincome divided by the DIA rate. Then, the transfer amount from the firstinvestment sleeve to the second investment sleeve is selected as amaximum of the account value in the first investment sleeve minus thecalculated amount of money in the first investment sleeve.

In an alternate embodiment of the CPPI model discussed above, a transferfrom the first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve isexecuted only if the quantity of the account value in the firstinvestment sleeve divided by the present value of the unfunded income isgreater than n, which is, in one example, a constant of 1.25, 1.33, or1.5. If that quantity is greater than n, then the TA is calculatedaccording to the formula:TA=(AV in Sleeve 1−n*PV of Unfunded Income)/(1−n)In this example the present value of the unfunded income is the unfundedincome divided by the DIA rate. Notably, this example produces thesimilar results as the previous CPPI embodiment when n=m/(m−1), where mis the multiplier discussed in the previous CPPI embodiment.

In another embodiment, the transfer amount is computed according to thefollowing formula:AIBP_(t)=Minimum[C×PQV,V _(t)×{1−maximum(minimum [1,m×(1−TR_(t))],0)}]Where TR_(t)=Target Ratio=(UIB_(t)÷PR_(t))÷V _(t)In the above formula:

-   -   t=Time (current business day)    -   AIBPt=Automatic Income Benefit Purchase (transfer amount) at        time t    -   PRt=Income Benefit Purchase Rate at time t: The amount of income        purchased per dollar of Variable Accumulation Value applied to        purchase the income. The income purchase rate in effect for an        Automatic Income Benefit Purchase and a Discretionary Income        Benefit Purchase at the time a transfer/purchase is processed.    -   UIBt=Unfunded Income Benefit    -   Vt=Accumulation Value at time t    -   TRt=Target Ratio at time t: The ratio of the Variable        Accumulation Value required to purchase the Unfunded Income        Benefit relative to the current Accumulation Value in the Policy        at the time a purchase is processed.    -   C=Cap: the maximum percentage [e.g., 10%] of the Policy's        Accumulation Value, on the first Business Day of the prior        Policy quarter, that can be used to make an Automatic Income        Benefit Purchase, except for a final Automatic Income Benefit        Purchase. In one embodiment, the Cap percentage is established        on the Policy Date and does not change while this Policy is in        effect.    -   PQV=The Policy's Accumulation Value on the first Business Day of        the prior Policy quarter.    -   m=Target Threshold.

In at least one embodiment, a final automatic transfer from the first tothe second sleeve occurs just prior to the income start date, e.g., 20days prior to the income start date. This final transfer amount may bedetermined using the following formula:AIBP_(t)=Minimum(UIB_(t)÷PR_(t) ,V _(t))

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment for transferring a portion of thepremium payment from the first investment sleeve to the secondinvestment sleeve according to the above formula. FIG. 3 includes Year301, Investment Sleeve 302, DIA Sleeve 303, Total Value 304, Market 305,and Interest Rates 306. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, Year 301shows the first year as the year that the initial premium was receivedfrom the investor. Years 2 through 11 each occur during the waitingperiod, and are the times when money is transferred from the firstinvestment sleeve, denoted as Investment Sleeve 302 to the secondinvestment sleeve, denoted as DIA Sleeve 303. Total Value 304 representsthe total value of the investor's assets among both Investment Sleeve302 and DIA Sleeve 303. Market 305 represents the performance of anystock market index, for example the Dow Jones Industrial Average^(SM),the S&P 500 Index®, the NASDAQ Composite Index®, or the performance ofthe assets in the first sleeve. Interest rates 306 represents the anyinterest rate, such as the LIBOR®. As shown in FIG. 3, in the year inwhich the premium was received from the investor, in the example, theinitial premium payment amount is $100,000, of which $95,000 of thepremium is allocated in Investment Sleeve 302, and $5,000 of the premiumis allocated in DIA Sleeve 303. At the end of each Year 301 the amountof money to transfer from Investment Sleeve to DIA Sleeve is calculatedaccording to the above formula or formulas, and the calculated amount istransferred from Investment Sleeve 302 to DIA Sleeve 303. This transferwill generally involve liquidating assets from the first investmentsleeve in order to purchase one or more annuities in the secondinvestment sleeve. The assets sold may be selected by the investor or bythe system automatically in order to maintain a desired allocationbetween assets in the first sleeve. It is understood that the allocationbetween asset classes may vary as the investor gets closer toretirement. Therefore, a greater percentage of assets with greatervolatility (equities) may be sold relative to assets with lowervolatility (fixed income instruments) in each subsequent year from theinitial premium up until the income start date.

In the Example shown in FIG. 3, by the end of the waiting periodsufficient funds are transferred into the second sleeve to fund theguaranteed income payment. The return from the assets in the firstsleeve over the waiting period may result in an excess over the amountnecessary to fund the guaranteed income payment. This excess amount mayremain in the first sleeve or generally in an investment account, or maybe used to purchase additional annuities and therewith provide incomepayments greater than the amount of the guaranteed income payments. Inthe event the return from the assets in the first sleeve result in ashortfall with regard to the amount needed to fund the guaranteed incomepayment, all of the value of the assets in the first sleeve istransferred to the second sleeve. The difference may be funded with afee assessed periodically, e.g., monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.,against the assets in the first, second, or both sleeves.

Returning to FIG. 1, in step 105, after the desired waiting period apayment amount according to the premium payment and the desired incomepayment is calculated. For example, if the investor indicated a desiredguaranteed income payment of 5% of the premium payment quarterly, thenthe amount calculated in step 105 will be $5,000. If the investor paidadditional premium directly or via a better than expected return fromthe assets of the first sleeve, the premium may be calculated at step105 accordingly. In step 106 one or more payments equal to the incomepayment amount are presented to the investor.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary overview of an architecture for a systemfor providing income payments to an investor. A user 401 accessescomputer terminal 402 to send and receive information from system 403.The income payments provided to the investor as well as any of the othervariables disclosed herein, in at least one embodiment, are calculatedor otherwise provided through a computer program product includingexecutable instructions stored on a computer readable medium. By way ofexample, a processor 404 performs executable operations based oninstructions received from the memory device 405. Through theoperations, the processor 404 administers and tracks investmentallocations and income payments in a variety of ways. For example, theprocessor 404 may be used for managing the investment sleeves, receivinginformation from the investor and from external sources, performingtransfers of money between the investment sleeves, and presenting apayment amount to the investor. The investor's assets may be accessedand allocated via financial institutions 409 connected to processor 404.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the user 401 may be an investor capable ofaccessing system 403, via computer 402, as generated and run onprocessor 404. The processor 404 is operative to perform the computingoperations described above. The system 403 includes the processor 404,memory device 405, data storage device 406, investor supplied data 407,preferences 408, and investment sleeve allocation software 409. It isalso understood that system 403 and related components, 404-409 may bedisposed directly within the computer 402, or may be distributedthroughout a network, such as the Internet, a wide area network, a localnetwork or an intranet, or a combination thereof.

Processor 404 produces an investment sleeve allocation space byexecuting investment sleeve allocation software 409 to facilitate thetransfer of money between various investment sleeves as discussedherein. Based on investor supplied data 407, preferences 408, theprocessor 404 calculates an amount to transfer between the variousinvestment sleeves.

Financial institutions 410, which may include bank 410 a, insuranceprovider 410 b, and brokerage 410 c, serve to process the investmentsleeve allocations calculated by the system 403. After calculating thetypes of investments contained in each investment sleeve and the amountof money contained in each investment sleeve, processor 404 transmitsdata to each of the financial institutions 410 with instructions topurchase and/or sell specified amounts of the allocated assets andproducts. For example, bank 410 a is instructed to purchase a certainnumber of certificates of deposit, insurance provider 410 b isinstructed to purchase a certain amount of annuities for the investor,and brokerage 410 c is instructed to purchase a certain amount of commonstock for the investor.

FIG. 5 presents a flow chart for steps according to a further embodimentof a method for providing income payments to an investor. In step 501 asecond premium payment from the investor is received, at least a portionof which may be placed into the first investment sleeve. Although thefirst, second, and any subsequent premium payments may be discussedherein as being deposited into the first investment sleeve, it isunderstood that a portion of the initial and any subsequent premiumpayment or payments may be deposited into the first investment sleeveand a portion of the premium payment may be deposited into the second orany other sleeve. Next, in step 502, the one or more payments forpresentation to the investor are adjusted according to the amount of thesecond premium payment and a time at which the second premium paymentwas received from the investor. That is, the guaranteed income paymentmay be increased accordingly to reflect the additional premium and theremaining amount of time in the waiting period. Interest rates appliedto the additional premium payments or annuities purchased therewith maybe the same interest applied to the first or any previous premiumpayment, or the prevailing rate at the time the additional premium ispaid or annuities are being purchased therewith. Moreover, any annuitiespurchased with the additional premium may provide their own guaranteedamount.

FIG. 6 presents a flow chart for steps according to a further embodimentof a method for providing income payments to an investor. In step 601during the waiting period a request to withdraw a withdrawal amount fromthe investor is received. In some embodiments this withdrawal amount mayalso be referred to as a liquidity option, which is optionally exercisedby the investor. The liquidity option allows the investor to receive allor part of his premium payment back from either the first or secondinvestment sleeve at any time during the waiting period or thereafter.Next in step 602 the one or more income payments for presentation to theinvestor are adjusted to reflect the withdrawn amount. In oneembodiment, the one or more payments are reduced on a pro rata basis,i.e., reduced in the same proportion as the contract value was reducedby the withdrawal amount made by the investor. In another embodiment allwithdrawals are first taken from the first sleeve or the investmentsleeve and will be subject to surrender charges.

FIG. 7 presents a flow chart for a method for issuing a multiple-sleeveinvestment contract to an investor. In step 701 information forproviding the multiple-sleeve investment contract is received from theinvestor, such as representing at least a current age of the investor, adesired income start date, a desired income amount, and a premiumpayment amount is received. Next, in step 702, a waiting periodrepresenting the difference between the investor's current age and thedesired income start date is calculated. In step 703 a plurality ofinvestment sleeves are selected. In step 704 a time to automaticallyexecute, during the waiting period and according to a predefinedcondition, for transfer of a portion of the premium payment amountbetween the plurality of investment sleeves according to a timeremaining in the waiting period and the desired income amount isselected. Next, in step 705 a payment amount according to the premiumpayment and the desired income amount is selected, and in step 706 thecontract indicating the payment amount is issued to the investor.

FIGS. 1 through 7 are conceptual illustrations allowing for anexplanation of the present invention. It should be understood thatvarious aspects of the embodiments of the present invention could beimplemented in hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Insuch embodiments, the various components and/or steps would beimplemented in hardware, firmware, and/or software to perform thefunctions of the present invention. That is, the same piece of hardware,firmware, or module of software could perform one or more of theillustrated blocks (e.g., components or steps).

In software implementations, computer software (e.g., programs or otherinstructions) and/or data is stored on a machine readable medium as partof a computer program product, and is loaded into a computer system orother device or machine via a removable storage drive, hard drive, orcommunications interface. Computer programs (also called computercontrol logic or computer readable program code) are stored in a mainand/or secondary memory, and executed by one or more processors(controllers, or the like) to cause the one or more processors toperform the functions of the invention as described herein. In thisdocument, the terms “machine readable medium,” “computer program medium”and “computer usable medium” are used to generally refer to media suchas a random access memory (RAM); a read only memory (ROM); a removablestorage unit (e.g., a magnetic or optical disc, flash memory device, orthe like); a hard disk; or the like.

Notably, the figures and examples above are not meant to limit the scopeof the present invention to a single embodiment, as other embodimentsare possible by way of interchange of some or all of the described orillustrated elements. Moreover, where certain elements of the presentinvention can be partially or fully implemented using known components,only those portions of such known components that are necessary for anunderstanding of the present invention are described, and detaileddescriptions of other portions of such known components are omitted soas not to obscure the invention. In the present specification, anembodiment showing a singular component should not necessarily belimited to other embodiments including a plurality of the samecomponent, and vice-versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise herein.Moreover, applicants do not intend for any term in the specification orclaims to be ascribed an uncommon or special meaning unless explicitlyset forth as such. Further, the present invention encompasses presentand future known equivalents to the known components referred to hereinby way of illustration.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully revealsthe general nature of the invention that others can, by applyingknowledge within the skill of the relevant art(s) (including thecontents of the documents cited and incorporated by reference herein),readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specificembodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from thegeneral concept of the present invention. Such adaptations andmodifications are therefore intended to be within the meaning and rangeof equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching andguidance presented herein.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It would be apparent to one skilled in therelevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail could be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized method for providing guaranteedincome payments to an investor under an investment policy, thecomputerized method comprising: receiving information from the investorrepresenting at least a current age of the investor, a desired incomestart date, a desired income payment amount, and a premium paymentamount; receiving a premium payment from the investor and placing atleast a portion of the premium payment into a first investment sleeve;calculating a waiting period representing the difference between theinvestor's current age and the desired income start date; automaticallytransferring using at least one computing device, during the waitingperiod and according to a predefined event, a portion of the premiumpayment from the first investment sleeve to a second investment sleeve,wherein the portion of the premium payment transferred between the firstand the second sleeves is calculated by the at least one computingdevice as a function of a time remaining in the waiting period and thedesired income amount, wherein transferring a portion of the premiumpayment from the first investment sleeve comprises calculating atransfer amount at a quarterly transfer time, the transfer amount is aminimum of: a maximum percentage of a policy's accumulation value at aprevious quarter and a percentage of an accumulation value at thequarterly transfer time, and wherein the percentage of the accumulationvalue at the quarterly transfer time is computed at least based on:{(1−maximum(minimum[1,m×(1−TRt)],0)}, where m is a target threshold, andTRt is a target ratio of variable accumulation value required topurchase unfunded income benefit relative to the accumulation value atthe quarterly transfer time; and presenting, to the investor, one ormore income payments from assets in the second sleeve.
 2. Thecomputerized method of claim 1, wherein the first investment sleevecomprises security type assets selected from a set of assets consistingof a stock, a bond, and an investment fund, and wherein the secondinvestment sleeve comprises non-security type assets selected from a setof assets consisting of an annuity and a guaranteed income investmentproduct.
 3. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a second premium payment from the investor, at least a portionof the second premium payment placed into the first investment sleeve;and adjusting the one or more income payments for presentation to theinvestor, the one or more income payments adjusted according to theamount of the second premium payment and a time between the time atwhich the premium payment was received from the investor and the startdate of the one or more income payment.
 4. The computerized method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving, during the waiting period, arequest to withdraw a withdrawal amount from the investor; and adjustingthe one or more income payments for presentation to the investor, theone or more income payments adjusted according to the withdrawn amount.5. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein transferring a portion ofthe premium payment from the first investment sleeve to the secondinvestment sleeve comprises calculating a change in the account valueduring the waiting period; and transferring an amount proportionate tothe change in an account value of the first sleeve during the waitingperiod from the first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve.6. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein transferring a portion ofthe premium payment from the first investment sleeve to the secondinvestment sleeve comprises calculating a cumulative account valuegrowth over the premium payment amount; and transferring an amountproportionate to the change in the cumulative account value growth overthe premium payment amount from the first investment sleeve to thesecond investment sleeve.
 7. The computerized method of claim 1, whereintransferring a portion of the premium payment from the first investmentsleeve to the second investment sleeve is made according to a CPPI modelor a variation thereof.
 8. A computer system comprising at least onecomputing device coupled over a network to at least one client device,the at least one computing device having software associated therewiththat when executed causes the at least one computing device to perform amethod comprising: receiving information from an investor representingat least a current age of the investor, a desired income start date, adesired income payment amount, and a premium payment amount; receiving apremium payment from the investor and placing the premium payment into afirst investment sleeve; calculating a waiting period representing thedifference between the investor's current age and the desired incomestart date; transferring, during the waiting period and according to apredefined event, a portion of the premium payment from the firstinvestment sleeve to a second investment sleeve, wherein the portion ofthe premium payment transferred between the first and the second sleevesis calculated as a function of a time remaining in the waiting periodand the desired income amount, wherein transferring a portion of thepremium payment from the first investment sleeve comprises calculating atransfer amount at a quarterly transfer time, the transfer amount is aminimum of a maximum percentage of a policy's accumulation value at aprevious quarter and a percentage of an accumulation value at thequarterly transfer time, and wherein the percentage of the accumulationvalue at the quarterly transfer time is computed at least based on:{(1−maximum(minimum[1,m×(1−TRt)],0)}, where m is a target threshold, andTRt is a target ratio of variable accumulation value required topurchase unfunded income benefit relative to the accumulation value atthe quarterly transfer time; and presenting, to the investor, one ormore income payments from assets in the second sleeve.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the first investment sleeve comprises security typeassets selected from a set of assets consisting of a stock, a bond, andan investment fund, and wherein the second investment sleeve comprisesnon-security type assets selected from a set of assets consisting of anannuity and a guaranteed income investment product.
 10. The system ofclaim 8, the method further comprising: receiving a second premiumpayment from the investor, the second premium payment placed into thefirst investment sleeve; and adjusting the one or more income paymentsfor presentation to the investor, the one or more income paymentsadjusted according to the amount of the second premium payment and atime between the time at which the premium payment was received from theinvestor and the start date of the one or more income payment.
 11. Thesystem of claim 8, the method further comprising: receiving, during thewaiting period, a request to withdraw a withdrawal amount from theinvestor; and adjusting the one or more income payments for presentationto the investor, the one or more income payments adjusted according tothe withdrawn amount.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein transferring aportion of the premium payment from the first investment sleeve to thesecond investment sleeve comprises calculating a change in the accountvalue during the waiting period; and transferring an amountproportionate to the change in the account value during the waitingperiod from the first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve.13. The system of claim 8, wherein transferring a portion of the premiumpayment from the first investment sleeve to the second investment sleevecomprises calculating a cumulative account value growth over the premiumpayment amount; and transferring an amount proportionate to the changein the cumulative account value growth over the premium payment amountfrom the first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeve. 14.The system of claim 8, wherein transferring a portion of the premiumpayment from the first investment sleeve to the second investment sleeveis made according to a CPPI model.
 15. A computerized method forproviding guaranteed income payments to an investor, the computerizedmethod comprising: receiving information from the investor representingat least a current age of the investor, a desired income start date, adesired income payment amount, and a premium payment amount; receiving apremium payment from the investor and placing the premium payment into afirst investment sleeve, the premium in the first sleeve capable ofbeing invested in security type assets; calculating a waiting periodrepresenting the difference between the investor's current age and thedesired income start date; automatically transferring using at least onecomputing device, during the waiting period and periodically atpredefined periods of time, a portion of the premium payment from thefirst investment sleeve to a second investment sleeve, wherein anyamounts transferred into the second sleeve are capable of being investedin only non-security type assets, the portion of the premium paymenttransferred between the first and the second sleeves is calculated bythe at least one computing device based on an account value of the firstsleeve at a transfer time and an account value of the first sleeve at aprevious transfer time, wherein transferring a portion of the premiumpayment from the first investment sleeve comprises calculating atransfer amount at a quarterly transfer time, the transfer amount is aminimum of a maximum percentage of a policy's accumulation value at aprevious quarter and a percentage of an accumulation value at thequarterly transfer time, and wherein the percentage of the accumulationvalue at the quarterly transfer time is computed at least based on:{(1−maximum(minimum[1,m×(1−TRt)],0)}, where m is a target threshold, andTRt is a target ratio of variable accumulation value required topurchase unfunded income benefit relative to the accumulation value atthe quarterly transfer time; and presenting, to the investor, one ormore income payments from assets in the second sleeve.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the non-security type assets comprise fixed deferredannuities, and wherein the method further comprises purchasing using theamount transferred to the second sleeve at each predefined period oftime a fixed deferred annuity having a waiting period of a timeremaining to the income start date and a desired income payment.